Tainted Stag
by Keyblade-Riku
Summary: Verde is a foreigner, raised by hunters. Her parents, having felt that they taught her to their very limit, send her off to Beacon Academy in hopes that she can make something more of herself, that she can be better. There, she meets team RWBY and becomes a "spare" member of their team, her circumstances having left her without one.
1. Chapter 1

The young woman looked up at the school that was, from today on, to be her home. Her lips curled upward, in an expression similar to but so very far from, a smile. A smirk of concentration, perhaps, as she considered the place. She couldn't deny that it was impressive and, if it lived up to its praise, was also the best official institution for her to learn to fight. She doubted, however, that it could compare to the training her parents offered.

A chill wind came in from the river situated next to the school, passing over the girl and softly blowing her bright, ocean green hair over her shoulder. Goosebumps emerged where the cold touched her skin, which, in essence, was almost everywhere. She wore nothing save a fashionable, yet practical, sports bra in gold and green and small, form-fitting shorts in matching colours. The girl believed that the less clothing a person wore, the more practical their combat skill. It also, of course, factored in her exhibitionism, but that was a detail she rarely shared when explaining her choice of clothing.

Coiled around her entire left forearm was a sturdy-looking armlet of sorts. It was a beautiful, dark shade of green, a tint darker than her clothing. Its ends were held together by a pair of antlers that sat at the very start of her palm, easily in reach should she just curl her hand inward. The antler motif was also present on her skin; inked just below her breasts, in an emerald green. It was the crest of her family, which she wore with pride and adoration. She wore two quivers filled with arrows; one attached to her right hip, the other worn at her back, though there was no bow in sight.

She slid one of the arrows out and held it gingerly in her right hand. Her eyes, a brilliant gold that offset her entire colour scheme, scoured the grounds of the school. Students were milling about left and right; she had to find a target. When her parents had told her that they had reached the limit of what they could teach her, she was furious. She didn't speak to them for a week, and, when she did, she instantly felt sorry. She knew that they had done all they could, that they wanted what was best for her. She didn't object, afterwards, when they told her that she was accepted at Beacon Academy. She would be a foreigner, and a mid-year transfer, but she would be able to make things work. They felt confident in that and their confidence fed hers. What she wouldn't do, she assured herself, is come in unannounced. If her parents felt this place could teach her more than they could, it would have to prove it to her. She would cause havoc on her first day, before she became a student.

She continued searching before her gaze settled on one girl. _Young, _she thought as she appraised her. _Certainly too young to be at Beacon. She must be skilled. Perfect. _She smiled, genuinely this time, and touched her fingers to the inside of the antlers of her armlet. It began to unwrap itself from her arm in a quick, fluid motion. Before long the young woman held in her hand a gorgeous green bow, gear turning and deploying a string from one end that attached itself to the other. It was thin but strong, its mechanical components permitting for a powerful draw despite its size. She set the arrow against the antlers, aligning it and holding it still while continuing to analyze her target.

The girl was in the standard Beacon uniform, with an added red cloak trailing behind her. Her hair was dark at the roots but dyed mostly red, and it was short. There was a folded weapon at her back, the likes of which the young woman couldn't quite identify. She knew it would be dangerous, though. The girl was a student here; there was no doubt whatsoever that she was skilled. Walking beside her was a busty, rather radiant blonde and a stiff but beautiful white-haired girl. They both looked at the girl with adoration and respect; the kind of love that meant they wouldn't interfere until they knew the girl needed it. She smiled and raised her bow, nocking the arrow and pulling on the string.

"Hey Red!" the young woman called, projecting her voice as much as she could so it would reach the girl. As soon as she saw her turning, she yelled out "catch!" and loosed.

The red girl was fast. Surprisingly fast. As soon as she saw what was coming toward her, she reached behind her and her weapon was already unfolding before it had even been pulled from its resting place. The green woman watched, somewhat in awe, as it unfolded to became an elaborate, deadly and, more than anything, beautiful scythe. She blocked with the snath, a smile on her face. She was victorious for only a fraction of a second, until the bullets sprayed out from the arrowhead. Three separate rounds that shot out upon contact, in a triangle around the head. Red gasped and stumbled backwards. The arrow had been loaded with blanks but they still packed a punch, and the green-haired girl was satisfied that it would leave a few bruises.

The girl's friends were staring, hard, a certain level of fury in their eyes. They had confidence in their friend, though, and so they stood back, watching with bated breath. Another arrow was taken out of the quiver, settled upon the bow, the string pulled. Red had recovered, shockingly quick, and began running towards her attacker. The young woman was again in awe at this tiny girl's speed, especially while wielding a massive weapon like that scythe. She managed to loose three more arrows at the girl, practically a blur charging toward her. Each one was deflected and each caused less damage than the first, the scythe-wielder having adapted to the way the bullets work and minimizing their damage. Still, she'd be left with a few more bruises.

"What's your deal!" she growled as the blur she had become leaped into the air. A heavy gunshot went off and the girl came down, blade pointed to her opponent, so very, very fast. "Who are you, anyway!?"

The bow-user's eyes widened, but she smiled. She flicked her wrist, touching a hidden button her bow that caused the string to retract into it. The weapon straightened out slightly, resembling, but not quite, a staff. Her right hand shot up to the other end and, calculating the exact moment their weapons would clash, threw herself down to one knee to absorb the brunt of the shock. A battle cry poured out of the red girl's lips as the weapons made contact, the explosive sound of metal clashing with metal reverberating through the air. The other girl grunted as she held her own against the counter attack. The tip of the scythe was stopped, resting gently on top of the staff. The dark-haired girl's cloak fluttered in the wind left over from her aerial assault, her eyes large, incredulous. Her opponent broke into a grin and then a laugh, preparing herself to launch another assault. Just as she was pushing against the scythe, a voice called out.

"Enough!" it was so normal, not a yell or a scream or anything. Just a speaking voice, but it was a command nonetheless, and one that demanded respect.

The green-haired girl heard the sound of shoes scraping against the pavement in an abrupt stop and she looked up. The blonde had begun to charge forward, fists clenched, nothing but rage upon her features. She was very, very protective of the younger one. She had been content enough to let her fight but now that things started appearing dangerous, she was going to charge into the fray. Touching her fingers once more to the antlers of her weapon, the newcomer cursed herself for not having noticed sooner. This fight would have gone so very, very badly if this person hadn't stopped them.

"You," the man who had commanded them pointed at the girl with the gold eyes. "Come with me," he ordered.

The other two glanced nervously between themselves, looking back to the man, their eyes curious. They were wondering if they were to be reprimanded. _He must be the headmaster, _the girl concluded. As her weapon coiled itself around her arm again, she followed him, smiling back at the two that she had been fighting. The younger one smiled and waved, jovial in her demeanor. The blonde, however, seemed angry. She took a step closer to the younger one and glared daggers at the girl who was now leaving.

"Sit," he said as they entered his office, taking his seat behind the desk, "and explain."

"You're the headmaster, right? Aspen? Ospun?" she asked as she took her seat, though she already knew the answer.

"Ozpin. And yes, I am. Now, let me guess. You're the new student I accepted, Verde."

"Yes, sir," she replied, smiling at him.

"Might I ask, then, why you decided to attack my students - and, essentially, your fellow peers - on your first day?"

"I figure," she began, "that I'm not officially a student of Beacon Academy yet, so I'd be best to cause trouble now, while I still can. Not to mention you know who my parents are. I had to make sure the skill level here was up to par."

"Are you implying," Ozpin said, smiling, "that your parents' judgment isn't good enough for you?"

She gasped and looked at him. She knew what he was doing; he was trying to make her feel bad about her decisions, to bring her judgment into question. She wanted to argue but she knew, deep down, that he was right. That was exactly what she had done; whether it was down out of reverence or not was unimportant. She suddenly felt bad for the way that she had acted, and, furthermore, for the certainty that it wouldn't bother anyone. She had been rather naive.

"That girl. What's her name?" she inquired. She had decided she would apologize.

"Ruby Rose. Now, if you don't mind, there's a lecture starting this afternoon that I'd like you to attend, so I'd prefer if we could finish up your paperwork now."

Verde nodded and set herself to the task at hand.

Later that afternoon, she slipped into the lecture hall and took an inconspicuous seat at the back of the room. She knew that people would notice her no matter what; she was new here, halfway through the year. Ozpin had also informed her that, for the moment, she was classified a "spare," a student who for one reason or another was without a team and would thus have to attend most team-oriented events with an already constructed team. The professor at the front of the class paused momentarily, looked up, and nodded, acknowledging her presence. Most of the students hadn't noticed the pause.

Ruby and her team, however, did. Verde looked down at them just in time to see her turn around and smile. Verde grinned back. She saw, in those silver eyes, that they really could be friends if they tried. It wouldn't even take very long. They had connected in battle, and that brought them closer. The blonde from earlier was still glaring daggers at her and the other one, the white one, looked at her with something not too far off from hatred. There was a fourth, a black-haired Faunus girl who seemed indifferent to the whole thing. Not because she wasn't playing along with her friends but, as Verde could see, she trusted them to handle what they needed to. This was a team that trusted one another. They knew each other well enough that they could place faith in them. Verde sighed sadly, wishing for a team of her own, and listened to the lecture.

Once it was done, Verde waited for all of the students to leave the classroom before getting up to go herself. There was something nagging at the back of her mind the entire lecture that she had to confirm, and it factored into her plans to apologize to Ruby. Her right hand found its way to her left arm, fidgeting aimlessly with the armlet as she walked the corridors.

"Hey," she heard a voice call after her.

"Yes?" she answered, turning to see the blonde that was with Ruby earlier and the Faunus.

"Don't you ever," the blonde continued, stepping towards Verde with malicious intent, "think you can attack my sister again."

She stepped right up to Verde and pushed her against a wall. Verde looked back at the other girl present, a smirk playing over her features. It pleased her to see the blonde one get rough and rowdy, and it was certainly charming that she was so protective. There was also a hint of nervousness, like she might have to intervene, but the blonde seemed in enough control. She clenched her free fist, increasing the strength she used in the other to pin Verde to the wall.

"Okay, okay," Verde acknowledge, waving her arms in the air. "I was going to apologize to her anyway. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Something appeared in the blonde's eyes and, for a moment, the girl in green was afraid that she had noticed what had happened. What happened, however, was that she looked Verde up and down, seeming to realize for the first time that her skin was darker, not pale and white like the rest of the students at Beacon. The accent must have caught her off guard and made her notice that Verde was a foreigner, olive-skinned and different, in a sense.

"Yang, you've scared her enough. Let's go," the Faunus called out, turning to walk away.

"Got it, Blake," Yang replied, turning as well, walking quickly to catch up with her friend.

Verde smiled and pulled an item out of her back pocket. A scroll to a certain room that she needed access to. Yang wouldn't miss it too much, she hoped, as she made her way to team RWBY's dorm room. She had asked Ozpin for directions earlier, promising that she would apologize profusely and mend whatever rift it may have caused. Verde paused outside the door before using the scroll to open it.

The room was pitch black, so she assumed that no one was there up until she heard a slight gasp. She pushed the door open even more, the light from the hallway pouring into the room. There was another sound, a soft, intimate sound. Verde was familiar with that one, and she smiled. The door opened enough that the light fell upon the bottom of one of the two bunk beds in the room, just enough so that Verde could see two figures, one with hair dyed red and the other with hair the colour of fresh snow. They were wrapped around each other, their lips touching up until the very moment that they felt, rather than saw, the light. They both paused, Ruby breaking off the kiss to look at Verde. The white one kept herself wrapped around Ruby, her eyes hungry, as if she wanted to continue even in the presence of this stranger.

"Well then," Verde said, stepping into the room. "This is quite the surprise."

She closed the door behind her, leaving the three of them to darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Verde smiled, though she knew the two girls wouldn't able to see it in the blackness of the room. She herself could see very little, her eyes having difficulty adjusting. Just the same, she made her way towards the other bunk bed. This threw a wrench in her entire plan, but she couldn't say it was an unpleasant sort of disruption.

"You two might want to disengage," Verde said, plopping down on the bottom bunk opposite theirs, "before I ask to join."

She heard sounds of shuffling as the two untied the knot that their body parts had formed, so invested in one another that the separation was almost painful. They stayed close, their hands probably still interlaced. A high-pitched, excited giggle escaped one of the girls. Ruby, Verde thought. Even from the little Verde had heard her speak, she recognized the carefree innocence in the sound. She didn't seem worried about the discovery, a thought that reassured Verde.

"What," began the other, sharper voice, "are you doing here?"

"Well," the intruder answered, a laugh settling into her voice, "I came to apologize to Red here. Imagine my surprise."

Verde laughed for real when she heard the growl that came in response to her reasoning. There were a few inaudible murmurs, Ruby trying to comfort her lover. After a minute there was a deep breath and some more shuffling, then the lights came on.

Ruby was standing next to the light switch, a smile on her face. There were so many different emotions swimming in her eyes that Verde decided to smile back rather than try to analyze them. This girl was amicable, curious, energetic and kind. Verde knew she was right in her decision to apologize to this girl; she would be a quick, easy friend and, judging from earlier, a powerful ally.

"Ruby Rose," she announced, walking over to the girl in green and extending her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Verde," she replied, forcing herself to be courteous and standing from the bed to shake the girl's hand. She looked over Ruby's shoulder at the white-haired girl still sitting there, taking deep breaths and staring death threats at Verde. "I think you might have to introduce me to the snow angel."

Ruby giggled. "I think you and Jaune would get along. He called her the same thing," she stated, turning to look at the other girl. "She's Weiss. Don't mind her grumpy attitude, she gets prickly when people interrupt us, not to mention her generally grouchy personality," she said, turning to stick her tongue out at Weiss.

"So, are you going to just hang out here all day?" Weiss inquired, her voice rough, angry, "or did you have some specific purpose to serve?"

"Oh!" Verde exclaimed, "that's right." She turned back to Ruby, smiling to herself at Weiss' hatred, and leaned in close for dramatic effect. "I'm sorry for attacking you earlier," she whispered seductively in the younger girl's ear.

She blushed furiously. "I-i-it's okay," she stammered, "it was fun. Which reminds me…" she trailed off.

"Hm?" Verde prompted, hoping that Ruby was considering her offer to join from earlier.

"Can I see?" she finished, pointing at Verde's left arm and shattering all her hopes.

"Oh, no," Weiss muttered, her eyes wide, looking almost…terrified, Verde thought.

She thought nothing of it and simply shrugged, pressing her fingers to the antlers. As the weapon took its form she handed it to Ruby, at the same time pulling an arrow so that she could look at those as well.

The girl took the weapon in her hands and stared at it in awe. She turned it this way and that, running her fingers over every single part of it. She checked the gears, triple-checked the machinery. Her eyes widened when she hit the button that retracted the bowstring, smiling wildly. She set the bow down, an action she almost seemed sad to perform, but looked at the arrow. Everything seemed like a typical arrow aside from the bullets surrounding the arrowhead, and the spring that made the arrowhead slam backwards to shoot them.

"What's its name?" Ruby inquired, not bothering to look up at Verde as she asked.

"Tainted Stag."

"Why?" she pressed, continuing to admire, passing her fingers over it as if it were a work of art to worship rather than a tool for slaughter.

"Hm," Verde considered, debating whether or not to tell her, "my family's crest are a pair of antlers, as you've surely noticed. That's where the stag comes from. The reason it's tainted, however…"

"Ruby," Weiss' voice interrupted, stern and commanding.

Both Verde and Ruby turned to look at her, wondering what she was about to say. She had no words, however. She simply looked at her girlfriend, willing her to understand what she was trying to say without having to vocalize. Ruby tilted her head sadly and nodded. Verde, having understood, laughed.

"Oh, thank you, miss Schnee, but it's fine," she announced. "It's tainted because I was adopted. My birth parents were killed by the Grimm. I was taken in by the pair of hunters that took it down. Thus, I took on their crest, but I am not one of them. Tainted, as it were. I also refused their family name, which is why I'm just Verde."

Ruby's mouth hung open, her eyes sad. Weiss' already sour expression had turned, if possible, even more sour. There was some degree of pity in her eyes, which Verde hated, so she gently walked up to her and patted her head. If it weren't for Ruby, and the appreciation Verde already had for the girl, she'd have just smacked Weiss and told her she didn't need her pity. After all, her parents raised her to be strong, potent and, ultimately, to please herself before others.

"Anyways," Verde said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, right! This weapon. Did you make it yourself? It's amazing, the way it wraps around you. I mean, Crescent Rose is compact but like oh my god this is so awesome. It's so light, but it's also durable; just holding it, I feel how it was able to hold back Crescent Rose. How it can be converted to a staff in melee situations so you aren't at a huge disadvantage, the way the bowstring retracts. This is so cool, oh my god!" Ruby exclaimed, squealing like the teenage girl she is.

Verde smiled and took the weapon back from her, returning it to its original form around her arm. She set the arrow back into her quiver and stood, arms crossed, looking at Ruby. She bit her lip nervously, suddenly remembering that other thing that she had come here for.

"You okay?" Ruby asked, returning to the bed and lying down, her head in Weiss' lap. The other girl wrapped herself around her protectively, cradling her head and petting her hair contentedly.

"Uhm," Verde hesitated, wondering if she should go on. "You know I'm a spare, right?" she asked. When both girls looked at her with varying levels of confusion, she elaborated. "It's when the teams are all full, since someone transferred in mid-year and didn't get placed in one. I'm on reserve to find a team once there are spots, but for now…"

"For now, you need someone to do missions and to train with, even though you're uncoordinated and new," Weiss stated, expecting that to be the truth.

Verde nodded. "I attacked you earlier because I wanted to test Beacon's students. Like I said, my parents saved me from the Grimm. I looked up to them as the penultimate of what hunters could be, and they sent me here saying they couldn't teach me anything new. I didn't, I couldn't, believe that. That there were stronger people than them anywhere in the world."

Just then, the door to the room opened and Blake and Yang walked in. Yang looked outraged, but Verde simply tossed her her scroll and finished speaking.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, until I get my own,

I want to join team RWBY."


End file.
